A Westchester community stood shaken to its core Sunday after a retired White Plains cop killed two of his three daughters and took his own life, authorities said.
Cops found Glen Hochman, 52; his daughters Alissa, 17, and Deanna, 13; and the family’s two dogs all dead inside their home in Harrison around 4 p.m. Saturday. More cop cars, and the dreaded Coroner’s Office van, converged on the snow-covered neighborhood in New York City’s suburbs.
Word quickly spread.
Cops have yet to say whether Hochman used a gun or other means for the slayings.
And neighbors, friends and village leaders are now worried the tragedy will weigh on the sisters’ pals and other kids in Harrison.
How do you explain why a 22-year-old officer with an unblemished record and a recent honor for performing CPR and saving a life-saving would do something so dastardly to the raven-haired teens, who over and over again were described by neighbors as “sweet girls.” There were unconfirmed reports that Hochman and his wife were having marital troubles. Anamarie DiPietro-Hochman, 50, was not home for the horror inside 1 Adelphi Ave. She, and the couple’s eldest daughter, Samantha, 22, were away but called neighbors worried when no one picked up the phone. Schools Superintendent Lou Wool, noting the sorrow of losing the school girls to such “incomprehensible tragedy,” ordered the doors of Harrison High School, where Alissa was a senior, be open Sunday at noon to make counselors and school officials “available to assist students and families.” “In this awful moment, let us remember how proud we are of (the Harrison school community), how much they have helped others and how much they will help others again,” Wool said.
The White Plains Police Department, in a statement, said it is “shocked and horrified by the news of this tragic event. We can only pray for the Hochman family.”
Back on Adelphi Avenue, neighbors continued shaking their heads in disbelief and grief.
“She was an absolutely adorable, sweet girl,” Howard Hollander said of Alissa, who he told The Journal-News recently was working at Powell Catering in Harrison and recently learned to drive on the streets where she grew up and died. “They were both sweet girls.”
And their dad? “Always friendly.”
The tweets from heartbroken friends were difficult to read.
From Carlye Uretta (@CarlyeUretta): “Enjoy your first night in heaven. I hope the rest of the huskies up there are giving you both a warm welcome, Alissa and Deanna. #RIP”
It shouldn’t have happened. Our community has lost yet two more beautiful souls. RIP Alissa & Deanna. #staystrongharrison #staystronghuskies
— Jessica Prado (@Jess__Prado) February 22, 2015
In shock, I’m so sorry to the Hochman family, rip Alissa ?
— Chris Brachlow (@ChrisBroccoli) February 22, 2015
In shock, I’m so sorry to the Hochman family, rip Alissa ?
— Chris Brachlow (@ChrisBroccoli) February 22, 2015
Enjoy your first night in heaven. I hope the rest of the huskies up there are giving you both a warm welcome, Alissa and Deanna.??? #RIP
— Carlye Uretta (@CarlyeUretta) February 22, 2015
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